One of those features that set human societies apart from animal societies is the use of language. Language is a vital part of every human culture and is a powerful social tool that we master at an early age. A second feature of humans is our ability to solve complex problems. For centuries philosophers have questioned whether these two abilities…

The past 20 years have seen a resurgence of interest on the part of psychologists in what used to be called "the higher mental processes," with the difference that while the earlier workers were concerned with the power of reasoning, recent interest has centered upon the use of language. The scope of the material that has appeared is frequently…

Responds to W. Frawley's and J. Lantolf's comments on the Frauenglass and Diaz study concerning the interaction between private speech and cognition. Argues that Vygotsky's theory predicts a positive effect on children's problem solving activity. (HOD)

The cognitive processes involved in a child's interaction with the linguistic environment are discussed. Specifically, the general cognitive processes involved in outputting long spans of connected utterances are examined. Narrative data are classified into three developmental levels: the procedural phase, where the linguistic output is generated…

States that recall of items given spaced repetitions is generally superior to recall of items given immediate repetitions. Reports on a test of Jacobi's hypothesis that this spacing effect is explained by the distinction between problem solving and remembering. Suggests that the effect cannot be explained solely by this distinction. (Author/MES)

Experimental hypotheses are proposed which assert (1) that "thought" and "language" are distinct but both are part of linguistic performance; (2) that "thought" is central, and "language" is a symbolic system that one uses to refer in various ways to what he thinks; and (3) that immediate memory works with utterances and linguistic texts over a…

Examines reading as a problem-solving process and suggests that those processes evident in reading successfully and in successful problem solving can be made conscious, thus enhancing children's success in both areas. (FL)

Describes the types of mathematical games or puzzles that can be used in foreign language courses and dicusses the purposes they serve. Emphasizes their effectiveness as motivational learning stimuli and points out that they can be used either as instructional or reinforcement devices which force the student to "think" in the foreign language.…

Reports on research examining the effect of linguistic presupposition on the solving of three-term series problems. (Author/RM)

Three extrinsic factors were manipulated in a problem-solving task performed by 80 ten-year-old children of I Q 90-110. The factors were: the presence or absence of the name of the concept given in feedback, specific instructions, and whether the child was allowed to verbalize. The task was a modification of Vygotsky's experiment on concept…

Thought processes as they are observed during problem solving are discussed. A theoretical framework is designed to establish the correspondence between the tactics the subjects use to solve problems and thinking processes. (NCR)

An investigation of selected research projects which focus on intellectual development is presented. The treatment begins with a description of psychological-oriented studies and illustrates the many ways in which studying a second language in school settings contributes to the cognitive development of the learner. (Author/RM)

Data were obtained on the reasoning processes of 92 normal seventh graders (IQ range, 90-130), 14 adjusted seventh graders (IQ range, 70-90), and 54 educable mentally retarded (EMR) junior high students (IQ range, 55-80) to determine whether spatial imagery differentially influenced the solution of three-term series problems, to determine the…

This article examined several possible explanations for the negative effect found by Judson, et al., in their experiments which examined the facilitation of problem solving through acquisition of relevant associations. (Author/NCR)

Linear syllogisms present two premises, each describing a relation between two terms. The individual's task is to infer the relation among the three terms of the linear syllogism, and then answer a question about one or more of these relations. For example, "John is taller than Bob. Sam is shorter than Bob. Who is the tallest?" Students…